Jim Brock was an accountant with Hubbard Inc a large corporation with stock that was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange

Ethics Case Studies 

150 Points

Report on Two Ethics Case Studies (Using Prezi)

Referring to the Ethical Decision Framework in Exhibit 1-9, each team will be creating a ‘Prezi’ evaluating two independent ethical situations.

Case 1: Retainer Fees as Sales (Chapter 9)

Bunch o’ Balloons markets balloon arrangements to companies that want to thank clients and employees. Bunch o’ Balloons has a unique style that has put it in high demand. Consequently, Bunch o’ Balloons has asked clients to establish an account. Clients are asked to pay a retainer fee equal to about three months of purchases. The fee will be used to cover the cost of arrangements delivered and will be reevaluated at the end of each month. At the end of the current month, Bunch o’ Balloons has $43,900 of retainer fees in its possession. The controller is eager to show this amount as sales because “it represents certain sales for the company.”

Required

Use the Ethical Decision Framework in Exhibit 1-9 to complete the following requirements:

1. Recognize an ethical dilemma: What ethical dilemma(s) do you face?
2. Analyze the key elements in the situation:
   1. Who may benefit from using the second appraisal? Who may be harmed?
   2. How are they likely to benefit or be harmed?
   3. What rights or claims may be violated?
   4. What specific interests are in conflict?
   5. What are your responsibilities and obligations?
3. List alternatives and evaluate the impact of each on those affected: What are your options in dealing with the ethical dilemma(s) you identified in (1) above
4. Select the best alternative: Among the alternatives, which one would you select?

Case 2: Inside Information (Chapter 11)

Jim Brock was an accountant with Hubbard Inc., a large corporation with stock that was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. One of Jim’s duties was to manage the corporate reporting department, which was responsible for developing and issuing Hubbard’s annual report. At the end of 2017, Hubbard closed its accounting records and initial calculations indicated a very profitable year. In fact, the net income exceeded the amount that had been projected during the year by the financial analysts who followed Hubbard’s stock.

Jim was pleased with the company’s financial performance. In January 2018, he suggested that his father buy Hubbard’s stock because he was sure the stock price would increase when the company announced its 2017 results. Jim’s father followed that advice and bought a block of stock at $25 per share.

On February 15, 2018, Hubbard announced its 2017 results and issued the annual report. The company received favorable press coverage about its performance, and the stock price on the stock exchange increased to $32 per share.

Required

Use the Ethical Decision Framework in Exhibit 1-9 to complete the following requirements:

1. Recognize an ethical dilemma: What ethical dilemma(s) do you face?
2. Analyze the key elements in the situation:
   1. Who may benefit from Jim’s action? Who may be harmed?
   2. How are they likely to benefit or be harmed?
   3. What rights or claims may be violated?
   4. What specific interests are in conflict?
   5. What are your responsibilities and obligations?
3. List alternatives and evaluate the impact of each on those affected: What are your options in dealing with the ethical dilemma(s) you identified in (1) above?
4. Select the best alternative: Among the alternatives, which one would you select?

Resources

Each team will create a Prezi to present their final project. If you have not already done so, sign up for a ‘Basic’ free account at https://prezi.com/ . Click ‘Get Started,’ then choose the ‘Basic’ tab at the top. On the next screen (the one that asks you to tell more about yourself) select ‘Student.’

• Collaboration:

You are able to collaborate as a team on the same Prezi. One person from the team will need to be the ‘owner’ and set up the initial Prezi presentation. There are several ways to add collaborators.

From the dashboard, hover over the presentation you created. Click the three dots. On the next page, to the right there is a blue ‘Add Collaborators’ button.

OR

From the dashboard, click the down arrow on the presentation. A menu pops up; choose ‘add collaborators.’

OR

Once in the presentation, in the upper right-hand corner is a collaboration icon. Click on it and then click ‘Total collaborators’ to add the members of your team.

*Make sure to give them editing rights.

• Help resources for starting a new presentation, adding content, etc.:

https://support.prezi.com/hc/en-us

• Sharing:

Once the presentation is complete, you will need to create a sharable link. You will need to upload this link to the assignment drop box in Blackboard for grading. Follow the same steps described under Collaboration above and select option for ‘create new link.’

Additional Instructions:

• You can either do a separate Prezi for each case OR present both cases in one Prezi.
• Each team member must upload the link to the Prezi. (If you don’t upload the link; you don’t get a grade for it.)
• This is designed to be a team project. Any member who does not contribute to the project is to not have their name on the presentation. Each team member will evaluate their other team members by using the text submission box when uploading the report.

 

Evaluation Criteria for: Team Project – Case Studies
Team Project Part II – 150 points	WD 135 to 150 Points	Dev 105 to 134 Points	NSW 104 Points or lower
Content (80%) 120 points	Presentation addresses all required elements. Analysis is clear and draws on topics presented in the textbook and/or other scholarly research.	Presentation addresses most of the required elements. Analysis is somewhat clear and draws on topics presented in the textbook and/or other scholarly research.	Overall presentation lacks clarity. Two or more of the required elements are not addressed. Analysis does not draw on topics presented in the textbook and/or other scholarly research.
Creativity, design and use of graphics (10%)   15 points	The Prezi is interesting and easy to read/follow.	The Prezi is somewhat interesting and easy to read/follow.	The Prezi lacks clarity and is not easy to read or follow. Lacks overall organization.
Grammar, Spelling (10%) 15 points	Clearly uses proper grammar and spelling.	Has more than three errors in spelling or grammar.	Has more than four errors in spelling or grammar.